For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
toward your holy temple.
— Psalm 5: 4, 7
Have you ever noticed how many stories are based on the Bible? The Bible story is based on Jesus coming into our world. He offers us a special relationship. He is wonderful. But something bad has happened. The people Jesus loves have been taken captive by his arch-enemy, Satan. In the battle to free his people, Jesus is killed. Then, amazingly, he comes back to life.
In the movies, the hero often follows a similar story arc. A great sacrifice is needed. Sometimes the hero or heroine even dies. Once in a while, the hero comes back to life. (If you have ever seen the movie, Princess Bride, you know what I mean.)
I am amazed at how frequently the Gospel is presented in Scripture, too. Even in the Old Testament! Today’s verses are a good example. David’s psalm begins by stating the obvious. “… evil people are not welcome” in God’s presence. Then he adds, “But I, by your great love, can come into your house.” Wow.
Even though David is not perfect, he loves God. He knows that God loves him. He knows that by God’s great love, He will provide a way for David to join God in His holy temple. (David is not speaking of an earthly temple here…)
David’s response? He bows down before God in reverence.
It is certainly true that God’s love saves us from being unwelcome! In Genesis 3 we see the result of Adam and Eve’s sin: Spiritual death (a broken relationship with God) and an awareness of evil. Because we are apart from God without Jesus, we cannot know the difference between good and evil. Even when we try and do good, we often do evil in God’s eyes. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we can be born again (John 3) and have a new relationship with God.
Application: Look for the gospel story in the stories you read and the movies you watch. Understand that Jesus is the real hero.
Food for Thought: What does the word ”reverence” mean to you?
Great devotion brother. I think you did really well at getting to the heart of the matter with what is a challenging Psalm. I certainly learned from this today. Jesus is indeed the hero. When I think of reverence I think of an awe, a deep respect. Reverence for God comes in my life as I realize that He is holy – distinct, separate from, different than anything or anyone else. He has unlimited knowledge and Sovereign power. He is pure, blameless and good.
Thank you, Rich! I appreciate your kind words. They encourage me. I love your thoughts on “reverence,” too.
This may seem harsh….but I don’t think we have a clue what reverence means in this day and age.
We are worthy of death by God’s standards of holiness. We don’t really seem to approach going into a church meeting with a feeling of awe, or unworthiness. We chit chat about our own business, sometimes seem inconvenienced when the church service doesn’t go by our schedule, and worship half hearted if my type of music isn’t be presented.
Sorry, if this wasn’t encouraging. I just think humbly approaching God’s throne is something I’m pretty ignorant about. And I don’t think I’m alone.
We are banking hard on on the grace provided by Jesus Christ to cover, and it often feels like we approach the Lord God almighty very casually. Maybe even to the point of taking advantage of Jesus generosity…knowing I’m forgiven in Christ.
Sorry, this was more of a rant…what’s the question again ?
Dear Ranting Rob –
Thank you for your wonderfully honest assessment of the state of our cultural ability for reverence in this day and age. I think that when each of us cross over into the afterlife and we are confronted with the living God face to face, I think then we will know what reverence is all about. Until then, the degree to which we are capable of reverence is a measure of our knowledge of and faith in God. As we learn more about our Creator and our faith grows, I think our capacity for reverence grows, too. I see your “rant” as an encouragement to know God better, through the Word, through prayer, and through living in faith.
👍
I for one I appreciate your rant Rob. You make some excellent points and I love your passion for entering God’s presence with the respect He is due.
Now the question is, now that you are aware of this how can you honor our God? What can you do to bring this up to other believers or even fix it in ourselves?